160+ online Linkedin.com Endearing Endorsements, Commendations & Kudos from coaches, colleagues & clients for this gifted & talented researcher--& that's just since July 2008! & that's just from folks who happen to be on Linkedin! http://www.Linkedin.com/in/germangenealogist
Karl has received hundreds more offline client letters of gratitude & commendation since 1979. This, due to Karl's having found ancestral data, often within MINUTES, that other researchers either did not, could not or would not find.
Since 1979, THOUSANDS of data, documents & images for THOUSANDS of ancestral family members for HUNDREDS of clients' ancestral family members have been found by The German Genealogist!
After THOUSANDS of hours of German Genealogy research, in 1984, Karl-Michael Sala was accredited as a German Genealogist by the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After more than a decade of absolutely stunning successes for his clients, Karl was run into by a drunk pick-up truck driver. This 1995 near-death experience ultimately caused that his accreditation was involuntarily pulled. This was to protect the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, since '95, along with Karl's recovery, Karl has had more success than ever for clients, patrons, himself & his living family members!
Since 1980, Karl has traveled 7 times behind the former Iron Curtain to East Germany to successfully exhaust hundreds of parish registers of the target ancestral family members.
Karl is a former USAFR Intelligence Officer who earned a Deserving Airman Commission while he had been serving as an Intelligence Operations Specialist & Linguist (German), Interrogator, Debriefer (non-commissioned officer at that time)
Karl is the very 1st person hand-picked for the Paid Expert Ancestry Research Line at Ancestry.com. His wife, Lynell Sala was the 2nd person selected for their short-lived, but highly successful Paid Expert Research Team!
When that project was abandoned, because of his language & research skills, Karl was promoted to taking the majority of research-oriented emails & phone calls from Europe for Ancestry.de, the Deutschland, i.e. Germany, version of Ancestry.com!
As the primary European ancestral genealogy & family history research consultant, Karl served Europeans in their native German language. This further fulfills blessings he had been given earlier in his life.
On the Ancestry.com International Team, Karl served as a consultant for Australia, Austria, Great Britain & mainland Europe! He cracked & solved many cases in those diverse locations.
For their clients, Karl & Lynell have found data & documents on thousands of living & deceased persons. The German Genealogist has solved cases that others said "can't be done!"
Just since Memorial Day 2010, Lynell & Karl-Michael Sala have cracked 6 cases in 6 locations! Germany (4), Lithuania (Littau, i.e East Prussia or Ostpreussen), Poland (5) (Posen or Poznan), Atlantic Ocean & the USA.
Indeed, Karl-Michael Sala is a Master German Genealogist!
Karl-Michael Sala
Thanks Dean McLeod!
You might be interested to know that a few years ago, I took Norm Moyes’ advice to not charge by the hour & ask the client as to the value of what they sought.
“So, Lois Jurss, you’ve been working this research for how long & how much money have you already put into it?” Lois: 10 years & at least $1,000.
“OK, if I find his place of origin, would you pay me $1,000?” Lois: Sure!
So, she indeed offered $1,000 for the place of origin. So, what did I find within 4 hours? Tirschtiegel, Posen, Preussen or Trzciel, Poznan, Poland! Do we have records for that place? Yes, both online & offliine on microfilm. Several thousand more $ flow into the account for that research on not only that line, but another one in Hessen! Here’s a link to view the report on the first one. http://www.box.net/shared/mh9n6gzdev
Then she offered $100 to find him in the 1880 Census. So, guess what I found within 15 minutes? The target immigrant ancestor, whose name had been seriously botched!
So, initially speaking, how about $250/hr & $400/hr? Was the client miffed or felt like she’d been ripped off? Not at all. Indeed, she wrote me also an endearing endorsement on Linkedin!
How many of those clients have I had? She was it. This year, September 2011 to December 2011, I will try to get more of that type of client this year.
We advertise $50/hr. Probable worth: $100/hr. Truth: perhaps $25/hr. You know how it goes: You’re just about to crack the case. Your fingers are itching to get to the Bottom of the case. So, you put in extra time. You’re lucky to get out of it with an earning amount approaching Minimum Wage.